Bee-hive



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Patented Dem.l 20, 1887.

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BBE HIVB. No. 375,269. Patented Den. V20, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS DANZENBAKER, OF CLAYMONT, DELAWARE.

BEE-HIVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent No. 375,269, dated December 20, 1887.

Application filed August 13, 1887. Serial No. 246,854. (No model.)

p lowing is a speciiication.

This invention relates to bee-hives; and it has principally for its object to provide a hive which may, when necessity requires it, be dil vided or converted into three different forms of a hive-capable of holding the same size of broodframes, having also for its object to provide a' hive which may be easily accessible for removing the surplus-honey racks, and which may be conveniently and effectually protected from heat or cold at the lvarious seasons.

It is often desirable during the summer or swarming season to have reserve hives, which may immediately be placed in position for use in case a swarm leaves a colony, and I therefore construct the outer casing for the hive in such a manner that it may be used as a second and independent hive and may hold the samesized brood-frames asthe brood-chamber, so that brood-frames filled with cells and having bees sitting upon them may be placed into the new hive and serve as foundations for the new colony without the necessity of wasting time in brushing the beesott' from the frames, as the bees all belong to the same original colony and have the saine smell. This obviates the neces sity of having a great number of extra hives, it being merely necessary to have a number of extra frames, with which the old and the new hive may be complemented, in addition to the filled frames divided between the two colonies, and as the bees all belong to the same original colony they maybe permitted to remain on the filled frames. If frames from another colony were taken to start a new hive in the usual manner, all bees adhering to the frames would have to be brushed oft', as otherwise they would be killed by the new swarm, which process of brushing oft the bees would consume time, which is precious when the bees are swarming. as they are liable to ily oif beyond reachif not promptly accommodated with suitable quarters.

The construction of the various parts of the hive by means of which I attain the above objects is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will be fully explained in the following description, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a transverse sectional view of myimproved bee-hive, showing it as it is used during the summer while the bees are making surplus honey and in the form termed hive No. 1,77 and showing in dotted lines another surplus-honey rack and the outer casing raised. Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a top plan view ot' the hive' with the roof removed, showing the strips supporting the outer casing. Fig-4 is a perspective view of the hive No. l ready for wintering the bees, the lower corner of the outer casing being shown broken away. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View of this form. Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view of thc same. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the hive proper or the brood-chamber, constituting hive No. 2 as it appears in the spring before the bees commence making extra honey. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view of the latter. Fig. l() is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the extra hive, or hive No. 3. formed by the outer casing and roof; and Fig. ll is a transverse sectional view of the same.

' The same letters and numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures,

In the accompanying drawings,the numeral l indicates the base-board of the hive, and this board has its edges 4 slightly projecting beyond the end pieces, 2, and side pieces, 3, of the brood-chamber. The end pieces of the brood-chamber are formed by boards of nearly twice the thickness of the side pieces, the thickness of the end pieces being'preferably seven-eighths of an inch,while the sides are onehalf of an inch thick, and one ofthe end pieces, 2, is cut away at its lower end to form the entrance 5, extending the entire width of the said end piece.

The inner sides of the upper edges of the end pieces are rabbeted, or rebated as shown at 6, and the projecting ends of the top pieces, 7, of loo the brood-frames S, which are of the usual construction, rest in these rebates or rabbets, and the portions 9 of the upper edges of the end pieces, 2, outside of the rabbets are formed with projections 9 integral with them and of the thickness of a bee-space.

The surplus-honey rack 13, containing the surplus-honey sections 14, is supported upon the top of the brood-chamber B, and has its end pieces, which are preferably formed with panes,l7,of glass, resting upon theupper edges of the end pieces of the brood-chamber, confined by the rabbets upon the same.

The rack is provided with longitudinal supporting-slats 15, forming the open bottom of the rack, upon which the sections are supported, and the upper edges of the end pieces of the rectangular rack are provided with projections 16 ofthe thickness of a bee-space.

A cover or lid, 10, is formed at its sideedges with two cleats or strips, 11, rabbeted into the edges at their under sides and preventing warping of the same, and the under sides of these cleats or strips are formed with ribs or strips 12 of the thickness of a bee-space, so that the cover or lid may rest upon the top of either the brood-chamber or a surplus-honey rack and have its flat ends resting upon the projections ofthe end pieces of the said chainber or rack and the ribs or strips upon the under sides of its side edges resting upon the lat upper edges of the chamber or rack, the projections of the end pieces and of the cover or lid forming a perfectly tight and snug fit of the latter and leaving a bee-space between the under side of the lid and the top pieces of the brood frames or sections of the chamber or rack.

By having the cover or lid raised a beespace above the brood-frames in the broodchamber, or above the sections in the honeyrack, the bees will have a free passage above the said frames or sections, which at the same time will not be sufficiently large to consume any heat created by the bees, While it is suffi-- ciently large to prevent the bees gluing the lcover or lid to the tops of the frames or sections.

An outer casing, C, for the hive is formed of side pieces, 1S, and end pieces, 19, the said side pieces being preferably thicker than the endpieces, the former being seven-eighths of an inch thick, while the latter are one-hall' of an inch thick. rljhis outercasing,C,iits around the sides of the brood-chamber and the surplus -honey rack or racks, leaving a small spacepbetween it and the latter, and the side pieces of the easing are formed with rabbets or rebates 20 in the upper edges, in which the ends of the top pieces of the brood-frames may rest when the casing is used as an additional hive, or hive No. 3, the inside width of the outer easing being equal to the inside length of the brood-chamber.

One end piece, 19,of the casing Gis cutaway at the lower edge, forming an aperture, 21,

which may register with and partly cover the entrance to the brood-chamber when the casing is entirely slipped down over the broodcharnber, and which forms the entrance to the extra hive, or hive No. 3, when this is formed.

The rabbet in the upper edge of one ofthe side pieces of the casing is formed upon the inwardly-facing side with notches 22, into which the reduced or beveled ends 23 of cross-strips 24 are inserted, and the other beveled or reduced ends, 25, of these strips are inserted into notches 26 in the rabbet of the opposite side piece, the said latter notches having each a beveled side, 27, which will admit of the ends of the strips being slipped into the notches from one side after the other' ends have been inserted into the notehesin the opposite side. Two of these strips are preferably used, and it will be seen that when the easing is slipped over the brood-chamber with one or more racks supported upon its top the strips will rest upon the upper edges ofthe side pieces of the uppermost rack, supporting the casing and leaving the sides of the broodehaniber uncovered, so that the brood-chamber may be kept sufficiently cool, the casing in the meanwhile shading and sheltering the brood-chamber.

A roof or outer top, 28, composed of the slanting sides 29, a cap-piece, 30, and triangular end pieces or gables, 31, is placed upon the top ofthe casing C, closing the hive, the slanting sides ofthe roof forming eaves projecting beyond the sides of the casing.

The entire hive, with the honey-racks overthe brood-chamber, is used in` the summer-time when the bees are making surplus honey, and one honey-rack is generally placed iirst in the hive, and after this rackis filled another rack is placed on top of the former, the outer easing and the roof being raised the height oi' a rack for each added rack, so that a person can see and judge from the height ofthe hive the number of surplus-honey racks within it without opening the hive.

In the autumn, when the bees have ceased to make surplus honey, the racks are removed. The cover or lid 10 upon the top of the uppermost rack is removed and placed upon the top of thebrood-ehamber, whereupon a covering, 32, consisting of layers of paper, carpet, a cush ion, or any other similar article, is placed over the lid 10, and the hive again closed by the easing and roof, the said covering being out of reach of the bees and protected from being glued or gummed by propolis by the tighttting lid or cover, which excludes all access to the space between the easing, roof', and brood-ehamber- The casing will form an air-space between its walls and the walls of the brood-chamber, which will serve to retain the heat within the hive, and the lower edges ofthe easing, which W rest upon the projecting edges L of the base, project beyond these projecting edges, so that rain or snow cannot lodge upon the base IPO IIO

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andflow into the bottom of the hive, as will he plainly seen in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 of the drawings.`

, The form of hive here described, which form I term hive No. l, may be divided or converted into t'wo forms of hives, which I term hive No. 2`and hive No. 3, hive No. 2 consisting of the brood-chamber covered by the lid or cover 10, and without the casing and roof, which form is used in the spring before the bees commence to make surplus honey, while hive No. 3 is formed by the casing and the roof, the casing being placed upon a suitableV baseboard and having frames supported in the rabbets of the side pieces, the said frames being of the same size as the frames used in the brood-chamber, being, in fact, generally frames removed from the brood-chamber of the original hive.

The casing and roof of the hive usually remain at the side of the original hive, or near the same, after having been removed in the spring, and as soon as the bees commence to swarm a new hive may immediately be formed for the reception of the new swarm from the casing and roof of the old hive of the swarm, placed upon a suitable base and stocked with filled brood-frames removed from the original or mother colony, the brood-frames being divided between the old colony and the new colony, and the spaces between them filled up with extra frames all of the same size and being used in common by both hives. This is accomplished and made possible by having the in- Side depth or length (from front to rear) of the brood-chamber the same as the width (from side to side) ofthe inside of the easing.

It will be seen that it is a great saving in time and in material to be able to convert one hive into two hivesfat a moments notice, so

that in the swarming season all swarms may be accommodated without the necessity of buying or building extra hives, and it will he observed, as already mentioned, that the contents, or rather the number of surplus-honey racks in the hives, may be known at a glance, judging by the comparative height of the hives, and that the capacity of the hives may be increased, without disturbing any of `the 1" undaniental construction of the hives, by adding an extra rack upon the top of the former Y rack by simply removing the outer casing and changing the cover orlid to the top of the new rack.

It will also be seen that the removable easing, which forms the shelter for the broodchamber in the summer, and which may be used as an additional hive, will form an outer wall in the winter when the honey-racks are removed, keeping the colony warm by forming an air-space between it and the broodchamber.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesl. Abrood-ehamber having the upper edges of its end pieces formed with rabbets for conining the surplus-honey rack, in combination with said rack having the bottom strips resting in said rabbets, as shown and described.

2. In a bee-hive, the combination of a broodchamber having the upper edges of its end pieces projected and formed with rabbets with a cover or lid having downwardly-projecting side strips the same thickness as the depth of the rabbets of the end pieces and resting with its plain under side upon the end pieces and with its strips upon the side pieces ofthe brood-chamber, as set forth.

3. In a bee-hive, the combination ofthe brood-chamber having rabbets in its end pieces, brood-frames resting with the ends of their top pieces in the rabbets, and an outer casing fitting over and around the broodchamber, and having rabbets in the upper edges of its sides, and having the same internal width as the length or depth of the broodchamber, whereby said easing is adapted to serve as an independent hive and carry the same-sized frames as the brood-chamber, as set forth.

4. Inabeehive, the combination ofa broodchamber, a surplushoney rack supported upon i the top of the brood-chamber, and an outer casing fitting removably over and inclosing the surplushoney rack and the upper por- .tion of the brood-chamber and having removable strips or cleats secured transversely on its inner side between its upper edges and resting upon the top of the surplus-honey rack, as set forth.

5. Abee-hive having the upper edges of the end pieces of the brood-chamber rabbeted, in combination with brood-frames having their top pieces resting in said rabbets and an outer casing fitting removably over the broodchamber and having rabbets in the upper edges of its side pieces for the support of comb-frames, the said casing being the same in width as the brood-chamber is in length and adapted to receive the frames from the brood-chamber, as setl forth.

, 6. In abee-hive,the combination ofabroodchamber, B, having the upper edges of its end pieces formed with rabbets 6 and 9 and provided with entrance 5 and comb-frames S,

lid 10, having side strips on its under sideV and resting upon the brood-chamber, the removable casing .0, fitting over the broodchamber and having the entrance 21, the bottom 1, and roof 28, as set forth.

' 7. In a bee-hive, the combination ofa broodehamber,a surplus-honey rack supported upon the top of the same, an outer casing having the upper edges of its sides rabbeted and formed with plain notches 22 in one face-of the rabbet of one side, and with notches 26, having beveled ends 27, in the facing side of the rabbet of the opposite side, and strips having their beveled ends inserted into the notches and resting upon the surplushoney rack, as set forth.

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8. A bee-hive consisting of a broodolmm- In tesbimonywhereoflhave hereunto setmy Io ber, B, having brood-frames, a surplus-honey hand in the presence of two subscribing wit;- rack, 13, a removable casing, C, fitting over nessos. the rack and upper part of the broodchamber and supported upon the rack, the lid 10, FRANCIS DANZENBAKER. the strips 24,11eld in the upper part; of the:

onsing,:1nd the removable roof 2S, all con- YVitnesses:

structed substantially as and for tbe purpose A. E. H. JOHNSON,

seb forth. ANNA MABEL NORRIS. 

